1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine hood assembly and, more particularly, to a body panel having an inner and outer skin interconnected by a light weight spacer in order to provide sufficient structural support to the body panel.
2. Discussion
Present automotive vehicle body panels typically include inner and outer skins each stamped of a sheet metal. The outer skin provides a decorative appearance to the vehicle, while the inner skin provides additional structural support. Typically, the inner and outer skins are interconnected by hemming the outer skin over the edges of the inner skin, thereby forming a unitary vehicle body panel. Although such body panel construction has been utilized for an extensive period, automotive designers continuously strive to reduce vehicle weight and cost and to improve the structural capabilities of the body panels.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body panel which reduces the weight of a comparably sized conventional body panel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a body panel having an outer skin formed of a metal or composite material interconnected to an inner skin formed of a thin, flexible material, where the inner and outer skins are joined by a honeycombed spacer.